2024 12 07
Yesterday, while walking to work early in the morning, I was noticing things I hadn’t noticed before. This was, I think, because the early-morning light was different from what I normally encounter. It got me thinking about how even myself, who I consider an extremely observant person, will experience things quite differently depending on the details of the moment. The weather, the lighting conditions, your mood, current events and politics, any people around you, these things will all affect your perspective and potentially change it quite dramatically.
Anyway, the reason I didn’t post yesterday is because I was at the holiday market (which I organized) the entire day and am still exhausted the following morning even after sleeping nine hours. I’m not sure what it is about hosting events. They can destroy me mentally and physically, yet I somehow enjoy the abuse and each time only want to come back bigger and better on the next one. Eventually, one of them will break me and I’ll move on to knitting or something a bit more casual. Or maybe photography?
-Clayton
Rainy Brewers stadium. Milwaukee, Wisconsin. August, 2024. © Clayton Hauck
Yesterday, while walking to work early in the morning, I was noticing things I hadn’t noticed before. This was, I think, because the early-morning light was different from what I normally encounter. It got me thinking about how even myself, who I consider an extremely observant person, will experience things quite differently depending on the details of the moment. The weather, the lighting conditions, your mood, current events and politics, any people around you, these things will all affect your perspective and potentially change it quite dramatically.
Anyway, the reason I didn’t post yesterday is because I was at the holiday market (which I organized) the entire day and am still exhausted the following morning even after sleeping nine hours. I’m not sure what it is about hosting events. They can destroy me mentally and physically, yet I somehow enjoy the abuse and each time only want to come back bigger and better on the next one. Eventually, one of them will break me and I’ll move on to knitting or something a bit more casual. Or maybe photography?
-Clayton
2024 08 20
I was up early this morning making editorial portraits of a band on the lakefront. We scheduled the shoot early, or at least what I’d thought would be early enough for some nice-looking sunlight low enough in the sky to be a bit more subtle. Of course, I woke up at 6:45am and the sun was already shining bright through my bedroom window, telling me to get my ass to set. By the time our scheduled start rolled around two hours later, the sun was intense and high in the sky, making it a challenge to find a nice exposure for my four subjects.
My strobe was maxed out and my ISO was bottomed out, yet my aperture was far more stopped down than I’d wanted it to be, making the beautiful Chicago skyline well in the distance beyond my subjects to be sharp and in focus, without anything I could do about it. I paused shooting and dug into my camera back in search of the ND filter I knew I’d left back at the studio in my never-ending reshuffling of my bag to accommodate whatever next assignment I’m being tasked with. Sure enough, it was nowhere to be found, however, I did have a random orange gel large enough to completely cover my lens. This gel, designed for an LED light I no longer even have, has been hiding in my bag for years without ever getting used — until today!
Editorial assignments are fun because they allow me to let a bit loose and try stuff. Of all the hundreds of images I made this morning, perhaps my favorite ones are the ones made while holding a cheap, orange, plastic gel over my lens because I thought why not (and wanted to open up my iris just a tad bit more and needed all the help I could get)!
-Clayton
Driving down a rainy road. Chicago, Illinois. April, 2024. © Clayton Hauck
I was up early this morning making editorial portraits of a band on the lakefront. We scheduled the shoot early, or at least what I’d thought would be early enough for some nice-looking sunlight low enough in the sky to be a bit more subtle. Of course, I woke up at 6:45am and the sun was already shining bright through my bedroom window, telling me to get my ass to set. By the time our scheduled start rolled around two hours later, the sun was intense and high in the sky, making it a challenge to find a nice exposure for my four subjects.
My strobe was maxed out and my ISO was bottomed out, yet my aperture was far more stopped down than I’d wanted it to be, making the beautiful Chicago skyline well in the distance beyond my subjects to be sharp and in focus, without anything I could do about it. I paused shooting and dug into my camera back in search of the ND filter I knew I’d left back at the studio in my never-ending reshuffling of my bag to accommodate whatever next assignment I’m being tasked with. Sure enough, it was nowhere to be found, however, I did have a random orange gel large enough to completely cover my lens. This gel, designed for an LED light I no longer even have, has been hiding in my bag for years without ever getting used — until today!
Editorial assignments are fun because they allow me to let a bit loose and try stuff. Of all the hundreds of images I made this morning, perhaps my favorite ones are the ones made while holding a cheap, orange, plastic gel over my lens because I thought why not (and wanted to open up my iris just a tad bit more and needed all the help I could get)!
-Clayton
2024 08 02
It’s nice having friends. I’ve been a loner just about all my life, while fortunately maintaining at least a few core, close friends along the way. This year more than ever I have been appreciating and (doing my best to) focus on maintaining friend-relationships. It’s remarkable how beneficial a solid friend can be. Let’s be friends!? You know where to find me. I’m here every day!
Shoutout Mr Yoder for being my model this dark and stormy night.
-Clayton
My bud Ken jumps in a puddle to celebrate his birthday. Chicago, Illinois. June, 2024. © Clayton Hauck
It’s nice having friends. I’ve been a loner just about all my life, while fortunately maintaining at least a few core, close friends along the way. This year more than ever I have been appreciating and (doing my best at) focusing on maintaining friend-relationships. It’s remarkable how beneficial a solid friend can be. Let’s be friends!? You know where to find me. I’m here every day! See you tomorrow?
Shoutout Mr Yoder for being my model this dark and stormy night, and my friend every other night.
-Clayton